


The Prophecy

by Flannel_and_Autism



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire | Pokemon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire Versions
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Anxiety, Anxiety Disorder, Autism, Autism Spectrum, Gen, Kinda, Social Anxiety
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-02
Updated: 2019-06-04
Packaged: 2020-02-16 07:24:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18686833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flannel_and_Autism/pseuds/Flannel_and_Autism
Summary: She started her journey with a Torchic she hadn't earned, but she didn't know that. Brendan had a reason for being so determined to be her friend, but she didn't know that. She was destined for more than getting eight Gym Badges, but she didn't know that. She was Hoenn's savior, but she didn't know that. She was the Chosen One, but she didn't know that.OR: ORAS au where the player is the chosen one destined to save the world from Kyogre but she's autistic and has social anxiety.A series of one shots set in the same universe.





	1. Chapter 1

There was a prophecy.

The people of Hoenn were not superstitious. The majority weren't even religious, and those that were had a complex system of beliefs completely unlike what was supposedly going to happen. Only a small portion of Hoenn’s population believed in the existence of Kyogre and Groudon in the first place, and virtually nobody believed that one of them would threaten the world only to be stopped by a foreign preteen.

But there was a prophecy.

Not a prophecy, not really. More like an urban legend, a tale that was swapped around at the school in Rustboro by naive teenagers that didn’t know fact from fiction. Then the kids would tell their parents, and it would spread further. Nobody was quite sure where it had originated, and the details were further complicated by the fact that every person’s version of the story was slightly different, a combination of the countless versions they’ve heard and their own lacking memories and the things they just add on for fun.

But there was still a prophecy.

Brendan Orlando Birch heard it for the first time when he was six, at Rustboro Pokemon Trainers’ School. He first heard it from the snobby blond boy with the Machop, but when his childhood curiosity led to him asking all of his classmates if they had heard of it, he found that they all had. He, of course, eventually grew out of the story, learned to view it as a fun tale to exchange while camping instead of a truth that would dictate his life.

But it was a prophecy.

Brendan, of course, told his father about the story more times than he could count. An eleven-year-old girl, supposedly, would come from the Johto region, refusing to explain her past but seemingly having inexplicable ties to Celebi. A year later, depending on who you asked, she would save the world from either Kyogre or Groudon. It was totally unrealistic for such a young girl to be the world’s saviour, of course, and Brendan didn’t seriously believe it by the time he was twelve.

But it was still a prophecy.

So when an eleven-year-old Johtonese girl moved to his hometown, refused to explain her sudden change in location beyond a simple “My dad’s the Gym Leader in Petalburg”, and had a backpack with a picture of Celebi on it, well, you can’t blame him for being a little intrigued.

* * *

Professor Ruby Terra Birch knew from experience that his son was smarter than he seemed, and that underestimating him based on his age and childish demeanor was a foolish mistake. But even he was surprised when a message from Steven Pierre Stone, the Champion of Hoenn, telling him that Brendan was right all along.

“There’s an urban legend, you see,” explained Steven, when Ruby rushed to Ever Grande on his request. “I’m sure you’ve heard of it, since you have a young son.”

“Brendan tells me a lot about urban legends,” said Ruby. “Which one?”

“Ah, I can’t be sure of the version you’ve heard, or even if you’ve heard it at all, but it says a twelve-year-old Johtonese girl with ties to Celebi will save us from Kyogre.”

“Oh yes, Brendan talks about that. Although he prefers the version with Groudon.”

“Equally correct, I suppose. The original prophecy is ambiguous as to which one will pose a threat.”

Ruby, somewhat justifiably, spat out his tea.

“What?!” he choked. “It’s an actual prophecy?!”

“Sort of. It’s a very obscure piece of Sootopolitan lore, I was only made aware of it thanks to my partner’s ex-teacher having kept records of everything under the sun. But … well, there’s a bit of a criminal gang -- I think they might qualify as a cult, actually, but the police are struggling to disband them -- that seems determined to awaken Kyogre.”

Ruby, somewhat justifiably, spat out his tea again.

“Why would they want to do that?!”

“They … have a rather distorted view of environmental activism. It’s a long story. Anyway, I didn’t fully believe the prophecy until recently, when my friend Norman described his daughter who fits the tale very closely. And I believe she lives in Littleroot.”

“May Sapphire?!” asked Ruby. “Brendan keeps saying she seems like the legend, but, well, I never really believed it.”

“Nor did I, Professor,” said Steven. “And even now, I’m not saying for certain that I believe anything. But just in case … make sure she gets a Pokemon, okay? And not just a Poochyena or something. A Pokemon that can help her.”

Ruby’s mind drifted back to the three starter Pokemon he had in his lab. “It won’t be a problem, Champion.”

* * *

It was a problem.

Ruby had been tasked with giving Pokemon to teenagers many times before. He was something of an expert at placing Poke Balls in locations where any teenager would just say “Finders, keepers!” and take it without telling an adult.

May did tell an adult, and when the adults told her to keep it, she insisted that she shouldn’t.

“Uh, May?” Brendan said one afternoon, when his father mentioned her refusal to take the Pokemon. “She’s autistic and she’s got, like, really bad social anxiety and stuff. She probably thinks you’ll think she’s a burden or something if she takes it. Why do you want her to have a Pokemon anyway?”

Ruby never gave that question a proper answer. If May had social anxiety, then causing her to be the centre of attention would make her more anxious and less likely to accept his offers -- and telling Brendan the truth about the prophecy would cause him to crowd her. Brendan was a smart boy; he would figure it out soon enough.

But May still refused. She still shyly held up a hand in refusal when offered a Pokemon from the lab and still mumbled an excuse when Brendan offered to help her catch one. As her twelfth birthday grew nearer, Ruby’s anxiety grew; but as she grew more timid and meek around him and left her house less and less with each offering, he knew he had to stop asking her.

Brendan went to her house often, to visit her. She didn’t like playing out in the neighborhood out of fear of the other children judging her, but in the months since her arrival in Littleroot, she had grown more comfortable with Brendan. Ruby would have felt guilty, but it’s not as though he was doing it on purpose.

You see, Brendan was a talkative child, and he would always come home in the evening and tell Ruby about how his day went. And since May had virtually nobody else to hang around with, Brendan gravitated towards her, making sure she wasn’t lonely even if she didn’t mind solitude. So he would come home every day and tell Ruby at great length about May, and Ruby remembered all of it.

“She actually kinda wants a Pokemon,” he said one day, a few weeks before the girl’s twelfth birthday was due. “But she won’t let me catch one for her because she wants to feel like she earned it, you know?”

That gave Ruby an idea.

* * *

Ruby had many Poochyena.

Brendan had many more, because they were easy to find and easier to catch and a great Pokemon to start with. Poochyena could be dangerous if pushed, and you certainly shouldn’t leave one alone with a baby, but to a great Pokemon Professor like Ruby, it couldn’t possibly be a threat.

May wasn’t Hoennian and Poochyena weren’t native to Johto, so she was less aware of this.

So when May finally agreed to play outside with Brendan a few days before her birthday, Ruby “accidentally” dropped his bad containing three Poke Balls while being “attacked” by a wild Poochyena. She, of course, took the Torchic and fought it off with ease.

A few days later, Brendan dragged her down to the lab and forced her to keep the Torchic. She was less reluctant this time, because she had earned it herself.

With a Pokemon by her side to protect her, it was safer for her to leave Littleroot, so she went on to Oldale. She went a bit further down to battle Brendan, winning with ease despite his Mudkip having the type advantage, and on his advice went further through to Petalburg to see her father.

Norman had been made aware of the prophecy by this point, of course, and as hesitant as he was to risk his daughter’s life, he knew she was being looked after by Steven Stone himself. So he advised her to go down to Rustboro and go on a proper Pokemon Journey, and she thought he just wanted her to get all the Gym Badges.

He let her think that.


	2. Chapter 2

“Well?”

At that one simple word, several people back away, and the few that hadn’t stopped dead at the sight of her are completely still.

“Aren’t you even going to try?”

May speaks with more confidence than she’s ever spoken with before, and stares at an audience larger than she ever thought she’d see in her life. Few had the sense to abort the mission when the rain started and fewer had the courage to defy Archie’s orders. Every single member of Team Aqua stands in front of her, some clearly horrified with the reality they had caused, but far too many smirking, unaware of the damage they’re doing.

Archie and Matt are right at the front.

She laughs.

“That’s all you’ve got?” she sneers. “Look at me! I’m twelve years old! I’m autistic and constantly anxious and I can barely talk to cashiers and this is all you’ve got?!”

Watching cautiously, Steven Stone stares from the sidelines, hands gripped around the Poke Ball containing Metagross in case he needs it.

“I only have two Pokemon!” she chokes. “I mean, there’s Latias, but who’s to say She would obey my commands? And yeah, I have Mega Evolution, but so do most of you! You could defeat me a thousand times over, so why don’t you just try?”

The crowd remains silent.

“As I thought.” Her lips curl up into a grin and she turns to Steven. “If they’re too scared, that should confirm it, then.”

“Confirm what?” he says cautiously.

“The prophecy.”

Brendan, somewhat justifiably, spits out his tea, which is odd, because he does not have any tea. It just appears in his mouth for him to spit out. “What?!” he chokes. “You know about that?!”

“I’ve known for a long time.” She turns to Wallace. “So I have permission, yes? To fight Kyogre?”

“Um…” Confidence like that is enough to throw anyone off their game, and coming from a girl usually so meek and timid, Wallace is just confused.

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

She turns her back on Team Aqua, and they could strike now. They could send their Sharpedo flying to her head and she’d be too overwhelmed by pain and shock to do anything. She’d be sent to hospital immediately, and their sole source of competition would be gone.

Nobody dares.

“Wait!” calls Steven.

She looks over his shoulder and raises an expectant eyebrow at him.

“You can’t!” he insists. “You don’t have any sort of equipment! You’ll need a protective suit, and a way to communicate with us, and you should borrow some of my Pokemon, and, and --”

“I’ll be fine.”

“May, please, listen to me --”

“I’ll be fine,” she repeats, more sternly, more assertively, and Steven’s caught off guard. He’s known May since she delivered the letter to him in Granite Cave, and she’s always been so meek, so anxious, so timid, so prone to stuttering and apologies that carrying a conversation with her was a task in itself. It’s like she’s a totally different person.

“I’ll be fine,” she says a final time as she turns to walk back into the cave, and her hands grip around a gold and silver ball in her pocket. “Celebi told me.”

**Author's Note:**

> I always sorta liked the idea of the player being some sort of chosen one, because that can be the only reason why the adults stand by and make this twelve-year-old fight god and save the world.
> 
> Also, I've headcanoned the Poochyena thing in ORAS as being a ruse to get the player to take a Pokemon for a long time. Because come on, can the Professor really not fight off a Poochyena?


End file.
